We haven't seen General Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in quite a long time, but that streak will end next year when he appears in Joe and Anthony Russo's Captain America: Civil War. But if you're expecting to see the same old General Ross in the new movie, you may want to think again, as William Hurt has confirmed that his character has changed quite a lot since we last saw him in Louis Leterrier's The Incredible Hulk.
It was during a recent interview with IGN that the actor made this revelation, currently out promoting his new AMC sci-fi series Humans. Discussing how his role in Captain America: Civil War, Hurt drew comparisons between the character he played in The Incredible Hulk and the character he's playing now. In the 2008 film, he says that he was playing a guy with an ego as big "as the monster he was chasing," but he will not be the same person in the 2016 blockbuster. Said Hurt about his Civil War role,
It's a more modernized style. And what they've done is they've taken a character who was the Ross from the older film and made a new version. This is a much newer Ross. A much different Ross. And I liked that a lot. I haven't had a lot of time to understand it, but I'm doing the best I can. And they haven't fired me yet.
Obviously that's pretty damn vague. It's understandable that the guy might not have as big an ego now as he did approximately seven years ago, given that the last time we saw him he was drowning his sorrows at a bar after completely losing track of the Hulk (not to mention getting totally played by Tony Stark). But could a big change in the character's perspective/personality mean that he could possibly be as against superhero registration as Captain America in Civil War? Or will his overarching desire to capture the Hulk lead him to align with Iron Man?
Of course, there is another way to interpret these comments about a new version of General Ross. Earlier this month, rumors began to spread across the internet about the possibility of Red Hulk making an appearance in Captain America: Civil War. For those who aren't familiar with the different color monster from Marvel Comics, Red Hulk first appeared in 2008 after General Ross put himself through a Super Solider program, and has been known to be not only extremely aggressive (as just about all Hulks are), but also very intelligent.
How you you interpret this interesting quote from William Hurt? How do you think General Ross is going to change in Captain America: Civil War? Hit the comments with your thoughts.
